A Killer Walks into a Bar
by Bane of Shinigami
Summary: Namikaze Naruto isn't a known Jinchuuriki. He doesn't even know it himself. However, the drums of war are sounding and the Sandaime Hokage must call upon every resource at his disposal, including one rebellious, seductive sleeper agent. Konoha meet...Namikaze Naruto.
1. Prologue

Bane of Shinigami

Fanfiction

22 December 2012

A Killer Walks into a Bar

Hatake Kakashi grunted as he slid into what was now his stool; ordering a bottle of sake, he took in his surroundings. Kakashi observed the blonde haired bartender who gave him his drink. The man had shockingly intense, electric blue eyes for someone who couldn't be a day over sixteen. The added effect of the whiskers that graced the young man's cheeks made for quite an exotic figure. The bartender retreated from Yahiko's piercing gaze, his face flickering with emotion suddenly. The bartender's face settled on one emotion: uncertainty.

He spoke, "The Old Man finally sent you to get me, Kakashi?"

Kakashi doesn't respond. He watches the object of his mission lean back against the bar, sensually take out a cigarette, and light the cancer-stick with a flicker of chakra. Smoke is inhaled and slithers out of the young blonde's lips. Long hair settles around the blonde like a lion's mane, and Kakashi is reminded why the mission to recall this renegade falls to him: very few people in the world would have a chance of getting out alive if the confrontation became physical. Kakashi leans back, his one visible eye smiling while taking in the seductive figure in front of him.

"_Hokage-sama_ has requested your presence at the Chunnin exams. He believe there are…complications."

"Since when do mere complications require me to leave my civilian life?"

Kakashi's eye hardened. He did not like being played with. He glared at the blonde in front of him. "You are a sleeper agent, Namikaze Naruto. And you would do well to remember it."

The now-named Naruto hissed and jerks back in response at the revealing of his status and full name. Rage floods his features, but he looks at the impassive Kakashi and reigns in his emotions. He regards the man who he sees as an uncle with a grudging respect. Naruto sticks out his hand and utters one word, "Give."

Kakashi reaches into his Jounin vest and tosses a scroll to the bartender.

"Blood seals…this must actually be important." Naruto glances up from where he caught the scroll to see that he is speaking to air: Kakashi is already gone.


	2. Rescue

Bane Of Shinigami

Fanfiction

Rescue

The Sandaime Hokage was old. He was tired. Regardless, he couldn't let his own weariness interfere with the responsibility he had to put down his wayward student, Orochimaru. His snake of a student wasn't going to be betraying anyone after today, he'd make sure of it. The Old Man's hands flashed at a speed most S-ranked ninja wouldn't be able to keep up with, let alone hope to attain. Age hadn't dulled the Hokage, but it hadn't helped either. "Katon: Goyuakku no Jutsu!" A fireball, no miniature suns, blazed out of the Hokage's mouth heading towards the betrayer Sannin and current enemy.

Orochimaru smirked; his teacher had become soft. He danced around the fireball meant to end him and sent his Kusanagi towards his former teacher's chest. His next strike would end the old man.

The Sandaime's eyes widened…He couldn't dodge the Kusanagi in time…he had failed his village. Suddenly his vision was flooded with yellow, _Clang._ The impact of two swords colliding sent out an outburst of chakra that would have sent genin sprawling.

"You've gotten slow, Old Man."

If he hadn't been under such duress the Sandaime's jaw would have dropped. He honestly hadn't expected Naruto to come back. Sure, he had issued the order and sent warning, but never did he think the rebellious sleeper agent would return to Konoha at his behest.

Naruto continued talking without waiting for the Sandaime to retort, doubtless the Old Man was in shock from the fact that he had actually turned up, "Orochimaru, S-class criminal of Konohagakure and former archnemesis of the Yondaime Hokage, I sentence you to death under the authority invested in me by the Sandaime Hokage. Sleeper Agent 009 is now activated." Naruto smirked at the look of shock on Orochimaru's face. Doubtless the snake was taking in his appearance and seeing ghosts. His grin became manical and he shoved Orochimaru back. Not letting up, the sleeper rushed forward.

Orochimaru grimaced as he danced with the sleeper agent that bore an astonishing resemblance to the late Yondaime. The kid was strong. And not just uncontrolled power, no, the sleeper agent was focused. Every action utilized to the maximum effect, barely any chakra wasted except what was used to fuel the deadly sword attacks. Really, Orochimaru had to give credit to this unexpected shinobi who had identified himself as a sleeper agent: the blonde was good. No matter, the boy would pay the price for interfering in his plans and daring to stand against one the Sannin. In an astonishing display of flexibility, Orochimaru bent under the boy's next slash by making his head parallel to the ground; transferring his sword to his tongue, the Sannin slashed the now overextended Naruto across the shins.

Naruto hissed as he felt the impact of Kusanagi across his shins; the wound was light but he had no doubts that the blade was poisonous. Slipping a hand into his pouch Naruto popped four general antidotes, hoping that the cure-all would at least somewhat slow the poison that would soon flood his bloodstream. He needed to end his fight quickly. Unleashing a volley of shuriken, he dropped his blade and began making handseals. "Raiton: Static Field Jutsu!"A static current began to run through Naruto's body, caused by the field he had just put up. Naruto's hair also began to stand on end. Legs tensing, Naruto kept his hands sealing; concentration would be key for this next part. "Hirashin!"With only a yellow streak following him, Naruto vanished from existence for a split second, reappearing behind Orochimaru. The Snake Sannin's eyes had gone wide with shock after he had yelled out the name of his jutsu, right before he dissolved into mud.

"Kukuku…young sleeper that was impressive but not quite close enough to the real thing..though I admit you had me wondering there for a split second."

Naruto took a defensive stance as his eyes darted all around, looking for the source of the Sannin's voice.

"I'm afraid that our battle is over ,young prodigy, though I am confused as to why my Kusanagi's poison hasn't taken effect yet, most people would have been paralyzed by now. You are most interesting. However, you cannot hope to best me using your father's technique though we both know why." Orochimaru appeared for a split second surrounded by his minions, the sound four. Naruto hadn't even noticed that the barrier had dropped. "You see young prodigy..your element is lightning, not wind, thus you will never be the equal to your father."

The Sandaime suddenly appeared behind Orochimaru unleashing a torrent of attacks aided by his monkey bo staff, which was Enma, his boss summon, transformed. Like the last Orochimaru though, the five figures in the sky turned into mud. The Sandaime landed facing Naruto, relief evident on his face, "Well my boy, how lucky it was for you to have arrived when you did, and now that Orochimaru is gone we can defend the village to our utmost ability."

Naruto smirked, "I'll leave the cleanup to the minions. I'll be waiting for you in your office when all of this is over with Old Man."

Instead of an outburst one would expect from being disobeyed by one of his ninja, the Sandaime simply shrugged and turned his attention to the masses of ninja warring before him in the stadium. The Sand and Sound nin seemed to be trying to orchestrate some type of strategic retreat. That couldn't happen. "Despite your refusal to listen to my direct orders, you did save my life, and you did technically respond to a summons during the chunnin exams. I suppose I never specified when you had to come back. I will see you after the battle, Naruto." With a sigh, the veteran Hokage hailed as the God of Shinobi leapt into the fray, ending lives without mercy or even a spare thought.

"I suppose you'll want to know why I've recalled you." The God of Shinobi took care packing his pipe as he surveyed the figures in his office, coincidentally the three in front of him all happened to be S-ranked ninja.

Naruto, flanked by Kakashi and Jiraiya, speaks in a drawl, "Welllll that would be the point of this meeting wouldn't it?" The sixteen-year old boy reaches into his own pocket and pulls out a cigarette, lighting it with a flicker of chakra. Taking a step back he inhales and starts to blow out smoke rings, his cute, pert lips forming into a perfect "O" shape form. He's aware that he has the attention of female ANBU in the corner. Grinning, he winks in her general direction. Shame he can't tell if she was flustered. Though with how he was dressed, she damn well better be. Clad in black pants that flared out over boots and little else, Namikaze Naruto cut quite the impressive figure. Over his chest he wore nothing but a black jounin vest reflecting his rank, but his body was crisscrossed with scars and tattoos. Oddly, all of the tattoos seemed to be in the shape of lightning bolts in some form or another.

Jiraiya sighs and smacks his godson across the back of the head, "Shut up, gaki, Old Man he may be but he is your superior. Show him more respect." Looking over, Jiraiya hopes Kakashi will back him up. Instead he is met only with the sight of one of the village's strongest ninja reading smut that he wrote, in public. Sighing again, Jiraiya straightens up as his teacher moves to speak of again.

"Well Naruto-kun, I was hoping you'd be happy to see me, I didn't realize you had grown so accustomed to civilian life."

"That's your fault to begin with Old Man. I didn't ask to be made a sleeper, but you forced me into it after you realized that certain groups are now vying for my life."

Now it was the Hokage's turn to sigh. "I had no other choice at the time Naruto-kun. Surely you can forgive an old man's protective nature. Besides, it worked out for the better did it not?"

Naruto only grunted in response. He was curious though, surely the old man hadn't called him to merely debate past decisions or smoke. He took another drag of his cigarette, using chakra to make sure it got into the rafters to annoy the ANBU up there. Childish, he knew, because the ANBU's mask would ensure that he didn't so much as smell the smoke, but at least it would obscure his vision for a split second. He returned his attention to the Old Man whose lips were beginning to move again.

"The real reason I have called you here, Naruto-kun, is something I have no doubt that you will be happy with." He cut Naruto off before the boy could even begin, "We are all assembled here to discuss your promotion."

The Sandaime's words drew a visible reaction from Naruto. Thoughts raced through his mind at impossible speeds, wondering what this could mean. There was only one place more obscure than the sleeper agents, the black ops. The true black ops , not the ANBU who handled the defense of the village, were the bogey men of the ninja world. Engaging in missions most would consider suicide or downright impossible, the black ops division of Konoha ANBU was beyond a force to be reckoned with. However, the true black ops was few in number, and only rumors could even attest to the existence of the unit. Naruto's eyes widened at the implications. Turning, he saw that Kakashi had reached into his side pocket and pulled out a black mask, ANBU style, to place over his face. Naruto almost jumped in fright when he noticed that his godfather was mirroring his surrogate uncle's actions.

"That's right Naruto-kun." The Sandaime reached into his desk and chucked an identical black mask at the shell-shocked sixteen-year old. Despite his condition, the boy caught the mask deftly and fitted it over his face. Three solid black masks gazed at the Sandaime, betraying nothing. To the shock of all the black ops members, the Sandaime pulled out an equally black mask and set it over his own face. "You are now my equal, Naruto-kun, and as soon as my student Tsunade responds to my summons to become the next Hokage, you will be part of my black ops squad."

Naruto peered at the other three figures in the room. He knew he was strong but to think that he was on the level of three Hokage-caliber ninja... He didn't believe it. However, the Sandaime had put his trust in him and he wouldn't let the Old Man down.

"Sleeper agent 009, you are now activated permanently as part of the Black Ops of Konoha. Do you accept this activation and the terms of it?"

"Yes, Hokage-Sama." Such a situation warranted a little respect.

"Good. Then your first assignment is to report to the house that you, Jiraiya, and Kakashi will be sharing so long as your unit exists. There you will find a scroll detailing your first mission." The Sandaime clicked his fingers and the three Black Ops operatives vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of their presence behind.

Jiraiya unrolled the scroll with a serious expression that seemed out of place on him to his godson. He recoiled in shock as he read the contents of the scroll detailing their mission. His two companions leaned over and had similar reactions.

"_Your mission is to assassinate the Elder Danzo. Eradication of all of his files and personal ANBU squad are secondary objectives."_

The mission scroll burst into flames.


	3. Temperance

Bane of Shinigami

Fanfiction

A.N. Yes I am aware that the Hirashin is a space time ninjutsu. Naruto didn't actually use it. Ever hear of deception? It's common in the ninja world.

Temperance

Kakashi idly leaned back against a tree, looking up at beautiful figure before him. The blonde above was majestically predator-like; he observed. All lithe, hardened muscle on display for any to view in addition to the blonde mane of golden hair that seemed like it would blind anyone who stared for too long. But the eyes…The youth's eyes had a languid quality to them that would cause most to underestimate him. Not Kakashi. He knew his squad mate was easily one of the most dangerous shinobi he'd ever been acquainted with, especially now that he was permanently activated. However, looks weren't enough to distract Kakashi from his intent, "Maa, Naruto, you never told me you learned the Hirashin."

Naruto smirked from his perch. As always when faced with something that could easily become a semi-interrogation, he reached into his pouch and pulled out a cigarette. A flicker of chakra and exhale later, he moved eyes to Kakashi. "I didn't." The blonde laughed at the look on Kakashi's face, well the quarter of his face that was visible. He'd expected such a reaction.

"You mean that….?"

"Do I mean what?" Naruto grinned, he wasn't going to let his secret be known so easily. Let his uncle figure it out, it was easy enough.

Kakashi gave a single nod in understanding, realizing what his surrogate nephew had done. The answer was simple really. Raiton, lightning chakra, was Naruto's element. By using the static buildup he had caused by his first technique, he had manipulated pure lightning chakra into his muscles. Such a maneuver however was extremely dangerous and required almost complete control over an element as one mishap would mean the end of the blonde's career.

"So you…"

Naruto cut him off, "Well, yes. The art of deception is quite common actually, being shinobi and all. At the time it just seemed like a surefire way to make Orochimaru retreat and call off the invasion."

Kakashi pondered his new squadmate's words. He wondered how the blonde would fair in open combat with Orochimaru. He knew the blonde was strong, no doubt, but the traitor had apparently surpassed the Sandaime if Naruto's timely intervention hadn't saved the Hokage's life. Kakashi was brought out of his musings by white robes materializing in front of him.

"Report."

Kakashi and Naruto shared a glance. With a sign, Kakashi realized he was going to be doing the talking.

"Hokage-sama, Jiraiya is out of the village looking for his other wayward teammate, Tsunade, at your request. On the mission front, we have started investigating and preparation but you of all people know that the mission will take a considerable amount of time, especially given that we cannot enlist outside help. Regardless, progress has been made and we hope to make our move near the time that Tsunade will be inaugurated, assuming that Jiraiya is successful."

"Good. I expected nothing less. How are the secondary objectives?"

Kakashi gulped slightly. Here was the dangerous part.

"If I may speak freely Hokage-sama?"

"Granted."

"I believe that directive to destroy the root shinobi would be detrimental to the village at large. The invasion left us needing every available shinobi, and while their very existence is an affront to the village, ANBU trained operatives are in high demand now, especially in regards to the continued security of the village. Myself and my squad mate believe that subjugation of the shinobi is to the village's benefit."

The Hokage gave no visible reaction to Kakashi's words. Instead looked up at Naruto, who hadn't moved from his perch and was now lighting his third cigarette.

"Do you agree with this assessment, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto stretched his frame out, his tattoos making it seem like lightning danced across his body.

He drawled, "I concur, Old Man. If we can ensure the loyalty of the ROOT shinobi, we should keep them alive. The benefits certainly outweigh the cost of exterminating them. Despite Danzo's sins, he was effective."

"I will meditate on this. Dismissed."

Kakashi and Naruto vanished without a trace.

"Kashi, where are you going?" Kakashi turned slightly, hating when Naruto called him that. He looked over at the blonde whose perfect lips had formed a cute pout. The boy's eyes played a different game, one of seduction.

"Cut that shit out, I'm not one of your targets nor will I ever be. Save that for missions or whatever it is you do in your free time," Kakashi's voice came out harsher than he intended.

A flicker of hurt passed through Naruto's eyes before it was masked with a grin.

"What's wrong uncle, don't care to play?"

Kakashi opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a flare of chakra that could have made a Biju pause. "That's the Hokage!"

Naruto was already on the move. Electric blue eyes had snapped to a full alert state and in a streak of yellow the youth was gone, flying full speed towards the chakra signature. Kakashi examined the static electricity in the air. Maybe he too could…_Whoosh_. Kakashi took flight as well, riding the electricity Naruto had left behind. While he could not control his elemental chakra as well as his younger squadmate, his famed Sharingan allowed him to pick the best path to "ride" so to speak, allowing him to emulate Naruto's jutsu and perceive the chakra trail left by the boy. Upon arriving on the scene, Kakashi didn't pause, sensing Naruto to his left, Kakashi jumped his way, unleashing a volley of shuriken towards the nearest assailant. Naruto, for his part, jumped to the right, his chakra blade intercepting the blade of the cloaked man who had just attempted to decapitate Kakashi. Strangely enough, the cracks were beginning to form on his blade, despite the supposed resilience of chakra blades…wait what that sword _eating_ his chakra? Then this could only mean…

"Hoshigaki Kisame…S-ranked criminal of the Village Hidden in the Mist, known as the Daimyo Killer. Pleased to meet you."

The now identified attacker only showed a shark-like grin in response before bringing his blade to bear.

Kakashi's attacker was fast. Too fast. Faster than most S-ranked shinobi. In fact, the attacker might be faster than Kakashi himself. Glancing to the comatose Sandaime on the ground, the man had to be good. The Hokage was no light weight, and would've been able to take out a lesser S-Class ninja despite the injuries he had obtained at the hands of Orochimaru. Old he was, but the Hokage was not Hokage without a reason. Kakashi backpedaled as his opponent revealed a kodachi. Palming a kunai, Kakashi waited for the man to capitalize on his initial strike. When he did, Kakashi reached forward and slashed. Despite only tearing through the cloak, the fight finally slowed enough so that he could see his attacker.

"Uchiha Itachi."

The criminal said nothing but dissipated into a murder of crows. Kakashi eyed his surroundings warily. _Clang._ His two crossed kunai blocked a blow from Itachi meant to slash his throat. Using the momentum from the block to flip over his assailant, he aimed a kick at Itachi's back, a back that was no longer there. Not breaking rhythm, Kakashi whirled around, lashing out with another kick while a hand went inside his pouch, pulling out a Fumma Shuriken. Expanding the shuriken in a second, Kakashi went on the offensive. Aided by his Sharigan, he blazed into action, attempting to keep Itachi on the defensive. The task was nigh impossible without the ability to look Itachi in the eyes Kakashi was no fool; he knew only one technique would cause the Sandaime to unleash the majority of his chakra at once, Tskuyomi, the infamous genjutsu of the Mangekyou Sharingan eyes that Itachi possessed. Skidding backwards, Kakashi found himself back to back with Naruto, who appeared to be struggling slightly.

Simply put, Hoshigaki Kisame was a powerhouse. The famed missing-nin's sword allowed him to eat the chakra of all those he encountered, rendering the usual elemental techniques that Naruto used useless. Sure there was more in his arsenal, but for the moment his lightning chakra was only used to augment his speed and agility, as well as making his punches pack an extra sting. To add to his sword, Kisame was a physical powerhouse, swinging the zanbato around as if it was nothing. Also, the fucking shark man had _broken his sword._ Thus, Naruto found himself constantly flitting around throwing punches and kicks, knowing that even if they did penetrate Kisame's defense they had to feel the equivalent to a bee sting. He needed an edge. Throwing the hilt of what remained of his chakra blade at Kisame, Naruto landed with his back to a skidding Kakashi. He needed to distract their opponents.

"Here to finish off the Hokage? Who knew you would ever work for Orochimaru..? I mean I know you two are lowlifes but…?" As expected the shark-like man took the bait.

"We don't work for that scum, boy, whoever you are." Kisame was sneering at the boy but he was secretly impressed. The no-name shinobi he was facing had kept up with him using pure taijutsu after kenjustu had failed upon Samehada devouring the boy's chakra blade. No matter, the boy would be dead soon anyway.

"Then what are you here for, Kisame-san, Itachi?" Even deadlocked with a kodachi-wielding Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi managed an eye-smile.

A toad landed on the battlefield before any of the combatants could converse further.

"They are here for information, am I correct Itachi?" On the head of the toad was Jiraiya, his eyes boring into one of the last scions of the Uchiha clan. "You see.. Itachi's new organization collects Jinchuurki, and they want to find the Nine-tails. No one in Konoha knows that information except the Sandaime Hokage, because the beast had to be sealed somewhere, killing a Biju is impossible."

Itachi gave an almost imperceptible nod to the words of Jiraiya, instead of responding, he motioned for his partner to retreat. Undoubtedly the return of Jiraiya meant that he had his old teammate, Tsunade in tow. With the unexpected arrival of two Sannin, he and Kisame could not hope to compete. Spinning, Itachi vanished in a murder of crows.

"Fuck..we let him get away." With the immediate threat gone, Naruto pulled out a cigarette as Jiraiya and Kakashi rushed to the downed Sandaime. Fully confident in the older generation's ability to handle the Hokage, Naruto turned to the two women who were just now approaching. He took in the woman who could only be Tsunade appreciatively, despite the obvious genjustu, the woman was quite attractive, especially with her assets that jutted out like mountains from her chest. The dark haired woman accompanying her was younger, but attractive as well. Naruto returned his gaze to the sole female Sannin with a smirk. Casually he sauntered forward. The dark haired one took notice.

"Ah, the famed Tsunade-_hime_ of the Senju clan, and one of the two remaining Sannin loyal to Konoha. How honored we are to have you join us," Naruto's words came out with a sultry tone, despite the obvious sarcasm in his voice. Tsunade's eyes flickered over to him, registering him for the first time.

"Who the hell are you, gaki?"

Naruto's grin widened. "Well if you are a princess, I suppose that makes me _Prince_ Namikaze Naruto."

Tsunade's eyes widened as Shizune gasped in shock. All thoughts of her mentor's condition fled from her mind as she observed the almost heavenly figure of the blonde in front of her. The implications….he couldn't be.

"Tsunade, we need you!" No matter the issue would have to wait, Jiraiya seemed to be distressed. All thoughts of the blonde Adonis fleeing her mind, Tsunade rushed over to her sensei, hands glowing with green chakra. She immediately rose.

"I can't fix him as he is. With the dispersal of all of his chakra, he took the Uchiha's genjutsu down to a manageable level, however, with his old age and previous wounds, I can't risk healing him so soon. Hopefully he will wake up on his own, see to it that he is protected, Jiraiya." With a nod, Jiraiya picked up the Sandaime and leapt back upon the toad he arrived on, making way towards the hospital.

Whirling around, Tsunade attempted to focus on the blonde prince that had just addressed her. He was gone.

Itachi and Kisame had made haste with their escape. Even they weren't about to take on four S-rank shinobi in their own territory, especially one being an unknown factor. Thee were forced to pull up short, however, as a lone blonde figure appeared in the forest in front of them.

Itachi spoke first, his Sharingan beginning to spin "Who are you?"

The blonde haired man chuckled. "Don't remember Itachi-kun? I thought I was the best you ever had?"

Itachi stiffened. It couldn't be. There was no possible way. He knew that she hadn't been real but the blonde woman had felt so right at the time. Of course he had known she had been under genjustu but there was no way Itachi could have known that was to describe _gender_ of all things and not looks. But look at the impossibly beautiful figure in front of him, leaning against the tree with an animalistic grace, hoody eyes tracking him even as he sensually drew a cigarette up to his lips to inhale…

"Move." Kisame weighed in with his command. He had little times for such games. Their objective had been compromised and he for one did not wish to stick around. Blurring, he swung Samehada at the new arrival, only for the figure against the tree to wink seductively and vanish in a puff of smoke. "Shadow Clone." Turning to Itachi, he saw that his comrade was still stunned from whatever revelation he was having about the seductive blonde. Shaking his head, he motioned to Itachi and took to the trees again.

Naruto smiled as he entered the bar, memories of his clone arriving to him. He had succeeded in rattling Itachi, a feat few on the planet could claim. Sliding into a seat, he motioned to the bartender. Leaning back, he caught the saucer and sake bottle thrown his way, it was a shinobi bar afterall. As he reached for a cigarette, he felt a presence behind him. Two very large objects pressed into his back.

"Now what do we have here? A little ickle shinobi who got lost and is now in the jounin bar?"

Naruto calmly took a drag from his cigarette as a tongue licked his cheek and then withdrew only to be replaced by a nibbling at his ear. Rather then respond, he sent a current of electricity from his back. The woman behind him recoiled in fright at the sudden, almost instantaneous manipulation of elemental chakra. Turning, he noticed that his little display had garnered the attention of most of other jounin in the bar, many who had weapons out.

"Oi! No chakra in the bar!" The bartender was agitated, damn jounin thinking they ruled the universe…

Naruto took in the woman who had approached him. Clad in fishnet and precious little else besides a trench coat, the woman cut quite the striking figure. And those breasts were impressive. He took another drag and gazed at her through hooded eyes. Licking his lips, he murmured, "Trust me, I am not little, especially where it counts."

Whatever she had been expecting, Anko did not expect the seductive blonde in front of her. The youth leaned against the bar with a casual grace, belying his instincts as a trained killer. In fact, the Adonis seemed relaxed of all things. Jounin shinobi did not relax. Anko would even hazard that the man felt like a civilian of all things, albeit an extremely delicious looking civilian, one that she wouldn't mind having a bit of fun with. However his masterful display of elemental chakra had proved otherwise to his supposed civilian status. Odd, she hadn't seen the man around or even knew that there was a lightning user that strong in Konoha. Wait..he was blonde. There had been rumors in the jounin circles that she was privy to of a blonde haired angel that had assisted the Third in driving Orochimaru into a retreat. She wondered…

Naruto smirked inwardly as regarded the woman staring at him. It'd been a little while since he had some fun. He took another drag and exhaled with an air of casualness that seemed almost inviting. Running a hand through his hair, his electric blue eyes pierced into the woman's own stare. "Care to join me?"

"Ready?"

Naruto sighed, "As I'll ever be."

"Maa, it won't be that bad, Naruto-kun."

"That's damn easy for you to say Kakashi, but I don't respect the woman at all."

"Regardless, she's to be inaugurated now, and we have duties to complete."

"How's the old man?"

Kakashi grimaced under his mask, "Not looking to good, I don't think he's ever going to wake up."

Naruto stiffened at the revelation that he might not talk to on of his former mentors ever again. "There's always a chance so long as he is still alive, ne?"

Kakashi chose his words carefully, knowing how sensitive Naruto was when it came to the one of the three people he trusted implicitly. "Don't give up hope."

Naruto straightened up and grinned. "Eh, Kakashi, how late are we anyway?"

"Two and a half hours or so, ready to go?"

Naruto smirked, "I felt what you did before we engaged Itachi, Care to repeat?"

The son of the White Fang waved him off, "Maa, that was a necessity, I'd rather Shunshin."

Naruto shrugged before blurring into a yellow streak. Kakashi watched for a second before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Namikaze Naruto, Sleeper 009, Status: Permanent Activation, Commanding Officer: Sandaime. Reporting."

Tsunade took in the inherently seductive figure in front of her. Currently, the blonde lightning user, if his tattoos were any indication, was leaned against the door of her office taking a drag from a cigarette. As a medic she personally hated those things.

"Put that out."

Said blonde let out a chuckle and tilted his head back to let smoke slither from his well-formed lips. He didn't put the cigarette out. Tsunade almost let out a groan in frustration. She had read her sensei's reports and Jiraiya had warned her, but she wasn't prepared for such blatant rebellious behavior. Seriously, why did three of the most powerful ninja soon to be under her command have to be so quirky? Between Kakashi and Naruto, who apparently were the closest thing either had to a friend, and Jiraiya, it was a little wonder the Third hadn't collapsed from anxiety issues. And her teacher had had the gall to put those three on a team together? With him leading it once he officially retired? Tsunade massaged her temples. Despite her genjutsu, she was definitely too old for this shit. Ignoring the fact that the main subject of her ire was busy lighting another cigarette, she barked out orders, "Mission 001 for Black Ops Unit 1. Report."

At that moment, Jiraiya came barreling in through the window, landing on the Hokage's desk. A vein appeared in Tsunade's forehead…of all the…"JIRAIYA!" Kakashi and Naruto winced as their squad-mate was sent barreling into, or rather through, the nearest wall, before he was even given a chance to get his introduction off.

Sighing, Naruto decided he'd dignify the Hokage-to-be's question with a response. Taking another drag from his cigarette, her eye twitched in annoyance, Naruto spoke in his sultry tone that seemed almost playful. "The wheels are already in motion."

Danzo sighed as he heard the thumps of two bodies hitting the floor, followed by the soft landing of three shinobi. "I see you have finally come for me." The three figures that he could barely make out remained silent, choosing to form a pattern that could be capitalized on if Danzo tried to escape. Getting up from his position behind his desk in the ROOT cavern, Danzo's eyes darted back and forth, looking for more possible assailants the slightest hint of an enemy. "They only sent three? I'm miffed the Hokage-elect has deemed me such a small threat. Old cripple I may be, but surely I can put up a decent fight."

Finally one of the figures spoke, "You aren't fooling anyone Elder Shimura Danzo. For your crime against Konoha, and at the order of the Sandaime Hokage, you must die."

Danzo's mind went into overdrive. The Sandaime had ordered this? Then it was possible the Godaime-elect had no idea of the existence of his organization. It was imperative that he survive this encounter. Leaping into the air, Danzo began to unwrap the bandages around his arm with a feeling of exhilaration. It'd been far too long since he had flexed his ill-gotten Sharingan. "I do not know your identities, but rest assured, this is my territory and I will not be so easily defeated in it."

Once of the black ops members chuckled at the Elder's words. Exploding in a field of static lightning chakra, his laughter grew louder. "Yes. You. Will."

A.N. Next time a reveal of Naruto's abilities, some of Kakashi's, and most already know what Jiraiya can do. Naruto and Kakashi's relationship will be expanded, and pretty soon Naruto will be meeting the rookies. The showdown between the elder and black ops commences.


	4. War

Bane of Shinigami

Fanfiction

Deliverance

Kakashi grunted with exertion as he buried a kunai into the back of a ROOT operative's neck, using his momentum to launch a spinning kick into the next ones chest. His role in this assassination was becoming quite tedious. At least Naruto had left plenty of residual lightning chakra around for him to work with. "Raiton: Lightning Spear!" Using the advantage his spear gave him, Kakashi raced to the other side of the cavern, needing distance between him and so many opponents. ROOT certainly had plenty of shinobi, good thing they tended to be B-class with a few low A-rank ones. How had this escalated so quickly anyway? Kakashi ducked as a sword sliced through where his head had just been, slapping a shock note, courtesy of Jiraiya, onto his attackers chest; he took to the walls, hands flashing as he powered up his signature technique. The sound of a thousand birds filled the air and became muffled as Kakashi singlehandedly dispatched three more ROOT with his Chidori. Grimacing as a few shuriken impacted his forearm, Kakashi leapt back again to get his bearings. "Raiton: Lightning Tiger!" The tiger should buy him some time, unwinding the bandages around his ankles, Kakashi quickly patched himself up with the precision of a veteran shinobi. Drawing more kunai and creating a shadow clone, he leapt back into the fray, only hoping that Jiraiya was faring a bit better than he was.

For his part, Jiraiya was agitated. The continuous spawn of the ROOT shinobi made his job of placing exploding tags and drawing exploding symbols on the wall a hell of a lot more difficult. Shinobi such as these were cannon fodder to a legend like him, but they still could not be ignored. He ought to kill that damn brat Naruto, did he not understand assassinations were supposed to be subtle? Flaring your chakra like a fucking beacon and engaging an enemy head on, even if he knew you were there was beyond stupid. But then, he supposed the kid did have a bone to pick if what the Sandaime had said about his training was true. Dispatching another ROOT squad with fireballs, Jiraiya wondered just how many motherfucking shinobi did Danzo _have_, surely enough to match the regular ANBU forces! This was fucking ludicrous, especially since he couldn't summon toads, that would blow his cover as a black ops member. Assuming the assassination was botched, which there was a high chance it was thanks to that damnable blonde, he couldn't let people know he was in on the assassination of an elder. That certainly wouldn't go over well at the Daimyo's tea party. Sending two kunai through the eyes of the closest operatives, he vaulted over them to slap four explosive tags, two on each of the remaining members of the squad. The resounding boom rocked the cavern and caused everyone to still for a split second, except for the yellow blur that was Naruto illuminating the shadow that was Danzo.

"Give up, boy, you've no hope of defeating me. I possess the almighty Sharingan!"

Naruto eyes hardened as he took off again at a blur, hands moving as he went, "Raiton: Lightning Spear!" He flipped into the air, unleashing a volley of kunai at the bloodline thief, "Shadow Shuriken!" His kunai multiplied tenfold. Danzo, however, was a step ahead, reappearing behind Naruto he struck him in the back, causing a small crater from when the youth hit the ground. Not pausing, Naruto leapt up and met Danzo's incoming kick with a lightning charged fist, sending a shock through the old man, and making his Sharingan whirl a little involuntarily. Naruto capitalized and grabbed Danzo's ankle, throwing the older man into a wall, causing chips to break off. Hissing, he was forced to dodge a torrent of black flames that the bastard now commanded with his stolen Sharingan. On Danzo's end of things, he was smirking. The boy who did not know what he was had come to him, and attempted to best him in a fight. The situation could not have worked out better if he had planned it. Sleeper Agent 009…an agent only to be called upon in the times of the village's great need or imminent doom. He had underestimated the old Sarutobi though, having no idea the man would ever consent to having him assassinated. Damn shame he had sent a Jinchuuriki after him, after all, if the beast's power came to surface he could easily control it with the Sharingan. Using his eyes, he kept the black fire trained on the blonde haired assassin, it was regrettable that he had to consume so much of his power, but the boy was an actual threat. To say nothing of Jiraiya and Kakashi who were obviously with him, their attempts to hide their identities were laughable at best. Nothing could hide from his Sharingan! Nothing! Turning back his attention to his opponent, Danzo felt every eye on his body widening as he faced a lightning charged fist.

"I've got you." Naruto landed oozing satisfaction

"And what makes you assume such asinine things _boy_," Danzo spat. He knew he was in trouble. The Sharingan had not picked up that last attack because Naruto had enased his entire body in lightning chakra. Normal shinobi could only incase a limb or so, something that was appallingly easy for the Sharingan to pick up on and allow his body to counter to. But to encase one's entire body in elemental chakra…Dashing over Danzo picked up his cane, shattering the wooden outside to reveal a chakra blade. Hopefully if he hit the boy it would prove fatal with the interference of the chakra blade. Still.. No guarantees. "Doton: Earth Spikes!" Spikes shot forward from where Danzo had stamped his feet, Naruto didn't have a choice but to take to the air. He was met by an enraged Danzo who was swinging his chakra blade without abandon, hoping to disrupt the flow on elemental chakra in the boy's body. Sheesh, he hadn't expected the old fucker to be this tough, granted the Sharingan had been an unexpected surprise but…"Raiton: Lightning Blades!" Two blades of pure elemental lightning chakra formed in a flash of yellow before taking on a transparent appearance. The technique was not unlike chakra scalpels, but was obviously a lot more combat oriented. Lashing out, Naruto began to dance with Danzo. Sparks flew as lightning met the neutral chakra blade, and the two combatants used the resulting force to separate. Mistakenly, Naruto looked up Danzo's arm into an eye. "_Oh fuck."_ Capitalizing on the genjustu his eye had cast, Danzo unleashed a torrent of black flames whilst rushing behind them, blade at the ready. He was cut off by a massive flare of static chakra that froze him in his tracks. Danzo jumped back, forming seals as he did so. "Doton: Earth Wall!" Earth rose up in front of him while he used another earth technique to hide himself underground. Thankfully, his natural element was the counter to the sleeper agent, but he couldn't keep this up forever, the boy was literally that good. Bursting through the field of static chakra that surrounded the boy as well as the earth, he landed an uppercut on the blonde that sent the boy reeling into the cavern wall. The body he punched turned into smoke. _"Shit."_ Danzo whirled around just in time for his chakra blade to cut into a lightning spear that had been sent at him but he couldn't dodge the kick enhanced with lightning chakra that sent him stumbling into the dirt. As he made to move again, he found himself restrained. "Raition: Lightning Shackles." Naruto allowed a predatory grin to grace his face as he walked forward. "So long as you are within my field of static electricity, I can perform almost any lightning technique instantaneously, including keeping you bound." Danzo smirked before turning into mud. Naruto's eyed widened.

"Jiraiya! Kakashi! He's here!" Throwing caution to the wind, the black ops operative flared his chakra again, the air around him igniting with electrical energy. Kakashi and Jiraiya turned from their respective fights to drop down in a defensive formation, a triangle where all three members had their backs to each other. Kakashi, feeding off of Naruto's electric field, charged up a Raikiri whilst Jiraiya threw caution to the wind and summoned two toads. The three men were surrounded by what remained of the ROOT shinobi.

"Fucking hell! There's no way we can get to him like this!" Jiraiya was beyond pissed. Motioning to his toads, he readied a fire jutsu while the two summons began to spew oil everywhere. "I'm sending this fucking hellhole up in flames. Kakashi, Naruto, watch my back." Concentrating on the areas where he had placed the most explosive tags, Jiraiya exhaled, "Katon: Housenka!" Mini fireballs impacted the walls of the cavern, setting off a chain of explosions. Kakashi and Naruto grabbed Jiraiya in between them as they prepared lightning chakra for what they were about to do next, feeding off all the residual elemental chakra they flew through hand seals for a combined technique, "Raiton: Ride the Lightning!" The three elite shinobi disappeared in a yellow streak, fleeing through the tunnels as the ROOT base exploded behind them.

Breaking through the surface, the three landed somewhere two miles west to Konoha. Naruto summed up their thoughts, "Well, fuck."

A vein appeared on Jiraiya's forehead. "What the hell was the big idea, gaki? Flaring your chakra so much a damn civilian could have sensed it? Did it ever cross your mind that assassinations are supposed to be secret and subtle? Sensei is going to have our heads on fucking pikes for botching this."

Naruto at least had the decency to look sheepish. "Well I wasn't really thinking about that, I just wanted to kill the old bastard, he was crazy strong though."

"No shit! He was the Old Monkey's rival back in the day, there was no chance you were going to trample all over him!"

"In all fairness, Jiraiya-san, he did have the Sharingan." Kakashi had finally decided to add his two bits in.

"Don't you—" Jiraiya was cut off by a chakra flare in the distance. "Oh fuck, that's sensei."

"Danzo and Orochimaru, I will not allow you to trample over my village." The Sandaime stood firm before the two shinobi, one his student, one his rival. He did not have the strength to combat both, he knew, but he would be damned if he allowed himself to not protect his village while he was still alive. In Itachi's genjutsu he had faced his worse fears and been torn apart. Now he was whole again, and would die for his village. Wasting no time, the Sandaime attacked, "Doton: Mud River! Katon: Phoenix Flower! Suiton: Water Bullet!"

Danzo and Orochimaru dodged the chain of jutsu and eyed the Hokage warily. Surely the man was on his last leg, but they both knew he was a forced to be reckoned with. He would have to be dealt with. Quickly. Danzo rushed forward, eager to end his rival. Poof! His blade struck a shadow clone…then where… The Sandaime blurred into existence next to him, flashing through seal, "Dead Demon Sealing technique!"

"You fool!" Danzo felt fear for the first time today. "Your life force isn't strong enough to seal me away, even if I am your equal in age! Why would you use that?"

The Third looked at Danzo with grim determination. "You will not escape Konoha with the bloodlines that you have stolen. I will take them back in their rightful owners' stead." The Shinigami that had formed behind the third extended its reach, and detached Danzo's arms, ignoring the man's agonized scream as his arm was separated from his body.

Orochimaru looked on in shock. His former sensei had just given his life to seal the Sharingan in Danzo's arm meaning that Danzo was no longer useful. Acting quickly, he unsealed Kusanagi and ran both of the old men through.

Blood spewed from the Sandaime's mouth as he felt Orochimaru's blade enter his back. However, the Third was smiling knowing that he had brought Danzo down with him, for the good of the village. Leaning back, the Third Hokage submitted for the what was probably the only time in his life, he submitted to death. The last thing he saw was Orochimaru's maniacal grin before the traitor took to the trees, leaving the two men of the older generation behind.

Naruto watched , flanked by Jiraiya and Kakashi, as the people flooded the Sandaime's funeral. The public had been told that he had died peacefully in his sleep, after falling into a coma based on the combined fights with Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi. Only the men with him and Tsunade knew the truth. Danzo had been burned like a traitor, his body not even being examined because of the amount of evil it represented. A tear fell from Naruto's eye. Sarutobi had been his mentor before he had become a sleeper agent, and Danzo had been another mentor, albeit a much more harsh and unforgiving one. He had buried both in the same day. Still he couldn't help but think..Kakashi laid a hand on his shoulder, "Stop that train of thought now. There was nothing we could have done. The Sandaime knew the risks of engaging two shinobi of that caliber without backup and without being at full capacity, but he chose to do so for the sake of the village. Do not demean his sacrifice by assuming it was within your power to stop him from having to make that choice." Kakashi ignored the shock of elemental chakra Naruto emitted from his shoulder and continued, "Do not let his sacrifice be in vain. Orochimaru must be brought to justice, and whatever organization Uchiha Itachi works for will be on the move as well. The Third died with plenty of secrets, as did Danzo, and it is up to us for pay for their sins." Naruto nodded stiffly in response to squadmates words.

Jiraiya spoke up, "But as what this means for the village…our squad must break up. Black ops squad 1 was the personal squad of the Sandaime. No one can be allowed to know that we ever existed and that we failed our only mission: the assassination of Shimura Danzo, Elder of Konoha. With any luck, we will never be reactivated again. However, I must tend to my spy network, my presence in Konoha is no longer required." Jiraiya clapped his younger counterparts on the back, before jumping into the trees.

Naruto glanced at Kakashi, one of the two people he trust in this world. He was distracted by a hawk flying overhead, nine circles. That meant a full active shinobi meeting for everyone in the village save ANBU. Should he attend?

Kakashi could already tell his blonde counterpart did not intend on going to the meeting that newly inaugurated Hokage had called. Smiling under his mask, used his offhand to performs and took Naruto away with him in a Shunshin.

"What the hell was that Kakashi?! You fucker!" Naruto was sputtering at an indifferent Kakashi, who seemed to be content with acting like he hadn't just taken Naruto away in an unexpected Shunshin.

"Maa, calm down Naruto, people are watching you know."

Naruto almost jumped out of his skin as he realized that he was in the Hokage Tower. And not just in the Hokage Tower but in a room full of shinobi. Odd…where was Tsunade? Naruto heard a growl from beneath him…oh shit..he wasn't on her desk was he? With a shriek, he leapt up and stuck to the ceiling before her chakra enhanced fist could collide with shin. "Kakashi you motherfucker!"

"LANGUAGE BRAT!" Tsunade's face was red with rage. This damn rebel could not show up any time he damn well pleased and have his way with her office! But he did look quite appealing even as he stuck his tongue out while hanging upside down…that vest he wore left little to the imagination.

All the other shinobi were in shock. Who was this blonde clown that made their new Hokage lose control so easily? No one had ever seen him before, but he made the rumor that a savior to the Sandaime and friend of Kakashi seem more believable, after all the young man was blonde. He did bear a strange resemblance to someone although most of the older shinobi in the room couldn't place it immediately. Except one.

Genma almost dropped the senbon in his mouth when the blonde had appeared. Take away the tattoos and add white robes and he was gazing at a clone of the Yondaime Hokage, He was willing to put money that he was the only shinobi in the room that had recognized this fact right off the bat though, besides Kakashi of course, not much got past that man, despite the fact that he was pretty easy-going. Well, easy-going when he wasn't slitting throats. Or assassinating with ridiculously strong lightning techiques. Or beating his genin into the ground for no reason. Actually come to think of it Kakashi might not be as easy going as he seemed…

Naruto hopped down from the ceiling and took in all of the active duty shinobi in the room. The greenest were at the front of course, the jounin would be far to experienced and paranoid to ever let that many people get a look at their back, ally or no. The most elite seemed to be in the rafters or disguised in various guises all over the room. No matter, he wasn't impressed. He withdrew a cigarette from his side pouch and in a practiced his motion, flipped his hair back while lighting it. Sidling up against the wall, he crossed his arms, making his muscles appear all the more impressive, and leaned back. His eyes moved to the Hokage, waiting for her to disclose the purpose of her first active forces meeting.

Tsunade glared at Naruto one final time before clearing her throat. "As you know, with the death of the Sandaime, we have once again entered conflict with another shinobi nation, Oto, the land of the Sound." Titters broke out in the room. The seasoned jounin paled. They knew what war meant and could only hope that Tsunade was not about to declare it. "The nation of Oto is led by a former Sannin and my teammate, Orochimaru. I hope to be effectively counter any aggressors from that nation, but as of now, Konoha is not at war." More titters broke out, murmurs filing the room, a lot of ninja below jounin had not been privy to the fact that Orochimaru was the aggressor in the invasion, one of their own. Tsunade had known this would cause a lot of ruckus, "Quiet!" She slammed her hand down, shattering her desk. "I will not go easy on Orochimaru because he is my former teammate. He will be brought to justice for his crimes against Konoha. However, now is not the time. We must rebuild and replenish our forces." Now murmurs of assent flooded the room, especially from the veterans. "Good. You are all dismissed except those that participated in the Chuunin exams and their sensei." All of the shinobi vanished, a good portion through the window much to her ire. She looked sideways at the blonde figure that had been irritating her the entire meeting with that damnable smoking. "I said, dismissed." Naruto merely smirked and took another drag before blowing it out slowly, "My, my Hokage-hime, short fuse?" He was so enjoying this, Tsunade was just too easy of a target. He caught the paperweight she flung in his direction. "Calm down sweetie." Tsunade flushed with anger, she was not a child! Rubbing her temples, she turned back to the issue at hand.

Hyuuga Hinata and Neji, Uchiha Sasuke, Tenten, Haruno Sakura, Abruame Shino, Akimichi Choji, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Inuzuka Kiba all stood before her. Glancing at her report, it said that Kakashi's team had one casualty to Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, the supposed "dead-last" of his class. The other boy, the Gai's protégé, was bed-ridden in the hospital from opening the gates. She almost double took. The gates? She was going to be having words with Gai on that one. But anyway on to more pressing matters, reaching under her desk, she took out a single Chuunin vest. "Nara Shikamaru, for displaying the strategic ability to become a chuunin, knowing your limits, and performing admirably even in defeat, you have been promoted to Chuunin." Asuma swelled with pride as a dejected Kurenai and Kakashi dug in their pockets for ryo. Tsunade wasn't interested in them however, she was more interested in the reactions of the other rookies. None of them seemed visibly affronted except the Uchiha who was grinding his teeth so hard she thought his head would fall off. Wait, what that brat glaring at her? Tsunade got a glint in her eyes, "Something to say, Uchiha?" The black haired boy looked like he was about to speak up, but a motion from Kakashi was all it took to silence him. Naruto chuckled in the corner at the boy's behavior, causing the Uchiha's piercing gaze to switch targets to someone who was the leader of his village and direct superior. Naruto only chuckled harder when he saw the Uchiha looking at him, "Cute kids Kakashi-kun." Sasuke bristled at being called cute.

He opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by his annoying teammate, as per usual.

"Hey! Don't you speak to Sasuke-kun like that! Who the hell are you anyway?"

Naruto started laughing even harder. Kakashi simply facepalmed and looked at the Hokage, but she seemed content to let the events play out, if only so she could figure more out about Naruto.

Naruto's electric blue eyes found the emerald ones of the girl, Sakura, he believed is what Kashi-kun had said about his team in the past was true, and gazed right into them. She backed off with a blush. "I'm, he winked at Tsunade, _Prince_ Naruto." Tsunade huffed. The damn blonde was getting annoying with his consistent flirting. It didn't help that he was very good looking. Regardless, everyone in the room was taken aback. Why would the newcomer claim to be a prince?

Tsunade saw fit to steal the annoying youth's thunder. "What he means to say is that he is Namikaze Naruto, son to Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage." There was a gasp of shock in the room. Sasuke eyed the blonde man warily, even if he seemed only his age there had to be a lot more too him. The son of the Yondaime was surely a force to be reckoned with. The other genin in the room were looking at the boy who couldn't have been older then them in awe. He really was royalty in the shinobi world.

Tsunade continued her diatribe as if she hadn't dropped a bombshell on the genin. "Training will pick up for all genin in the coming weeks after the village is restored to a certain state. There is simply too much potential for current class, in fact I'd hazard that all of you have what it takes to be jounin." There was a collective gasp at Tsunade's statement. Jounin were few and far between and for her to claim a whole academy class had the potential to become one…well that was statistically unprecedented. Naruto snorted. Tsunade had had enough and blurred out of her chair, hoping to catch the boy unwares, cocking back her fist she prepared to unleash hell only to be stopped by a tap on her shoulder.

"Now, now Tsunade-chan lets play nice with your shinobi."

Tsunade flushed again, realizing the blonde was behind her. She blurred back to her seat, face still red. The genin who had watched the scene had their mouths wide-open. Granted, Tsunade had toned her speed down to that of about an elite jounin, but the man had to be a spectacular shinobi to move al the way _behind_ Tsunade and not merely dodge her attack. Sasuke looked a bit ruffled. Tsunade ignored the incredulous looks in favor of tossing out mission scrolls. "Nara, you are in charge of all your former classmates, see to it they complete these sets of D-rank mission."

"…so troublesome…" The Nara really didn't want to lead but apparently he must.

"Don't give me any lip! The village needs to be brought up to speed ASAP. Then we can begin the torture, _ahem_, training of the remainder of the genin to get them up to speed." Tsunade looked positively devilish as she mentioned training for the younger generation causing them to shiver in fear.

Naruto was still chuckling. Tsunade turned to him again, "Can you do anything but fuckin' laugh brat?" Kakashi facepalmed again, appearing next to Naruto.

"Maa, I'll take care of him, Hokage-sama." He wrapped an arm around Naruto and prepared to Shunshin.

Tsunade stopped him in his tracks. "Like hell you are leaving! I've got a mission for the two of you butt-buddies!" Sakura and Sasuke snapped to attention, as did Asuma and Kurenai, though the jounin had grins on their faces. Did the new Hokage just call Kakashi butt-buddies with the son of the Yondaime? Kakashi had friends? Sasuke looked at Kakashi incredulously. How could his sensei betray him like this? Making friends? It was almost enough to bring tears to his eyes and beg for Itachi to come back.

Tsunade ignored the odd looks she was receiving..this meeting had gotten weird quickly and threw the two men a mission scroll which was deftly caught by Naruto. He rolled it open with a flick of his thumb. His sultry voice filtered through the room even as he and Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves, "I do hear Kiri is warm this time of year."

A.N. next up, a mission to Kiri.


	5. Clash of the Titans

Bane of Shinigami

Fanfiction

A.N. Weird chapter to write, but I needed to introduce a character and allow you to get a grasp on the abilities of Naruto and Kakashi.

Clash of the Titans

Kakashi raced across the water with Naruto close behind him. Senbon flickered overhead and jumped, making hand seals as he did so. "Raiton: White Lightning!" The jutsu impacted the waves, making an electric current that slowed some of the hunter-nin that were after them in their tracks. Naruto sprang into action, unleashing volleys of shuriken, "Shadow Shuriken!" Not bothering to look back, both ninja kept racing, hoping that they had taken out at least a few of their attackers. Kakashi cast a sidelong glance at Naruto. It was so typical for a simple reconnaissance mission to go awry because the blonde wanted to do things his way. A Kiri-nin appeared in front of the two, without missing a beat, Kakashi palmed a kunai that soon made its home in the unfortunate nin's throat. Well, at least his younger partner made things more interesting. Even if dismantling an entire village for information on Akatsuki was excessive. Grunting, Kakashi leapt to the side as more shuriken flew over his head. Damn, this was going to be a long day.

Naruto would swear up and down until the day he died that he hadn't meant to start the international incident. It wasn't his fault the leader of the mist resistance, Mei Terumi, had been so stubborn and resisted his offer to help, forcing him into the main village to gather information. It also wasn't his fault that in his reconnaissance he might have attacked the third Mizukage Yagura because he thought the man was being controlled by Akatsuki. Who knew that the Sanbi was that strong anyway? Still, it had been a rough day, both him and Kakashi had been forced to fight their way out of Kiri, but the sea they were running across never seemed to end. In a burst of chakra that sent Naruto and Kakashi spinning sideways, three tails appeared from under the water. Naruto expelled chakra from body at an alarming rate in order to land on the water upright. "_Oh fuck."_

Kakashi and Naruto stood back to back, riding the waves with their chakra, bleeding from a dozen wounds. Thankfully, the uncontrolled Sanbi was taking out just as many of its own Kiri ninja as the duo of death were. Ducking and weaving, Kakashi and Naruto entered the fray once more, slitting throats at an accelerated pace while trying to make distance from the Biju's corrosive chakra. Naruto grimaced as a kunai pierced his shoulder, roughly he yanked it out and sent it through the eye of the thrower. He felt a trembling below him as something _asbofuckinglutely massive _was beginning to surface under him and Kakashi. With a roar, the Sanbi broke through into the light, with Naruto and Kakashi on its shell. The two Konoha nin locked eyes. They were in deep shit now.

Uchiha Itachi carelessly dispatched Kiri ninja as he made his way towards his objective, the wayward biju that Yagura had allowed to take control. Kisame was to his right, teeth and Samehada gleaming alike as they fed on the from comrades on the missing-nin. From the shore, Itachi could see the massive beast. Wait…something was not quite right. He activated his Sharingan, eyes spinning.

Kisame came up short next to his partner, "Ne, Itachi, what's up?" The shark-like man was definitely reluctant to stop in the slaughter. He hadn't had this much fun in ages. Akatsuki didn't really give him much of a chance to cut loose and enjoy a good massacre like every S-ranked nin should every once in a while. Turning his gaze from his partner, he saw the Sanbi. "Oh."

"Indeed, Kisame-san, however look more closely."

Kisame squinted. There were two figures on the Sanbi's back! Shouldn't they be smears from all that corrosive chakra? Unless…wait yup. That was it. They were literally in the "eye of the storm" the chakra of the Sanbi wasn't so corrosive when you were on its back. He eyed his sword. Or had something to eat said corrosive chakra with. Well, this was going to be interesting. "What's our move Itachi-san?

Itachi debated. He could turn back and see if the two figures survived at a later date. He could go subjugate the Sanbi now. However, first and foremost, his objective was to measure his capacity. Itachi's mind whirred. Nope, he couldn't think of a better way to test his abilities than a death match on the back of a demon turtle with whatever powerful shinobi were foolish enough to be caught there.

Kisame was a little on edge. He could practically see Itachi's mind spinning as he decided the best course of action, however, from the looks of things and the battle-lust Itachi was starting the generate, he was itching for a fight. Not that Kisame could blame him, Samehada was practically bursting at the seams trying to reach out and devour the demon turtle's chakra.

"We fight, Kisame-san." Itachi took off across the water.

Kisame blinked. There was no _fucking_ way he had just seen that. Like literally no _fucking_ way. Shrugging it off as a trick of the light, Kisame called on his bloodline and dove into the water. There was no way Itachi could have smiled anyway.

Kakashi and Naruto stared at the chakra storm around them in awe.

Naruto sighed and sat down, "Well there goes any chance of getting out of here. With any luck Yagura will lose control, or maybe Akatsuki will show up and seal this thing."

Kakashi face palmed. His partner could not be serious, did he really have no way out of here short of them being incinerated by concentrated Biju chakra?

"Seriously Naruto?"

Naruto opened an eye from where he lay, opting to at least relax if he was going to be stuck in a Biju powered chakra prison. "What Kashi-kun? Don't want to be trappd here with little old me?" He punctuated his statement by batting his eyelashes.

"Naruto this is serious!" Kakashi was getting frustrated, his fellow genius was just too lackadaisical sometimes, and well if Kakashi was calling someone lackadaisical, they were beyond redemption.

Naruto sighed and sat up, pulling out a cigarette as he did so. He looked up. "_Oh fuck._" Something was creating a vacuum in a small section of the chakra storm. Something distinctly sword-like in nature. And there was only one sword in all of the _fucking_ elemental nations that could do something like that. Two cloaked figures dropped down a few meters from Naruto and Kakashi.

"Charmed as usual, Kisame, Itachi."

Kisame rolled his eyes. Not these fuckers again, why does he always have to fight the same people? He much preferred a good massacre….

Kakashi didn't even bother wasting time as he pulled up his headband. Sharingan spinning, he regarded the two newcomers. "Any reason, why you are here? Besides the obvious sealing of course?"

Kisame stepped up, "Well Itachi here couldn't keep it in his pants and wanted a good fight," he hefted Samehada over his shoulder, flashing his teeth, "and I'm not one to turn down a good time."

Naruto almost choked. "Wait a minute, you mean to tell me we are here all because Itachi of all people wanted to fight? That's ridiculous."

Itachi's red eyes flashed. "You would do well not to insult me, Shinobi-san."

Naruto smirked, "Oh that's right we haven't met. Allow me, I am Prince Naruto of Konoha."

Kisame snorted. He recognized the blonde brat from his last battle. "Royalty ain't shit out here kiddo, now be a good little bitch and _die._" Kisame was the first to move, blurring forward.

Naruto jumped back, biting his thumb as he did so. He pulled out a scroll and allowed his chakra to flood it. A brown cylinder came out. Kakashi looked over in shock. "Where the hell did you get that?"

Naruto had the decency to look sheepish, "I might have nicked it in the ensuing chaos surrounding Danzo and the inauguration." A look of fear came over his face. "Don't tell Tsunade! I just wanted a legendary sword! Literally every motherfucker and his mother has one these days. Seriously, Orochimaru, Kisame, Itachi…."

Kisame stared at the blonde in a new light. Did he really steal the Raijin from his village? The famed lightning sword of the Nidaime Hokage? He grinned eagerly, this fight was about to get a hell of a lot better. "Well brat, you got the sword, lets see if you can use it."

Naruto's grin mirrored Kisame's. The Raijin exploded in his hand, reacting to his extreme elemental control. Static electricity erupted around him, causing a spike or two to break off of the Sanbi's shell.

Kisame licked his lips at the sheer amount of chakra emanating from the Prince. With a shift of Samehada, he charged and was parried by the blonde ninja. Kisame went for another strike and felt his movement slow. _"Odd."_ Then he finally took notice of the static field around him. _"Ah."_ Leaping back, he cast Samehada into the air, "Suiton: Suuryidan!" Catching Samehada, Kisame charged under his water dragon towards the blonde.

"_Ah shit."_ Naruto dodged the water dragon by leaping into the air, knowing his static field would fry him if Kisame's jutsu impacted. Still, it was worth it to know that he could slow the bigger man's movements if he needed to. He slashed down at an incoming Kisame, "Raiton: Lightning Fang!" Chakra poured from the legendary sword in his hand only to be swallowed up by an overeager Samehada. Still moving, Naruto created three shadow clones, and jumped back as they engaged Kisame. "Raiton: Lightning spear!" More lightning shot towards Kisame as Naruto pointed the Raijin at him. Lightning jutsu came a lot easier when he was able to use the Raijin as a focus of sorts. Of course with the Samehada eating all his jutsu all he really was doing was stalling…Still it would be foolish to go head to head with a sharkman who happened to be a sword master in the middle of an ocean, with nothing but jutsu and a chakra blade. Yet here he was. Naruto sighed. Of all the fuckery… Concentrating lightning chakra to his feet instead of his whole body, Naruto streaked towards Kisame, attempting to disembowel him. His enemy caught the blow with the flat of his much larger blade and pushed him off, causing Naruto to flip backwards and point the Raijin again, "Raiton: Lightning Spear!"

Kisame grunted as Samehada took in more of the potent elemental chakra his blonde opponent cast like it was literally nothing. "Just a one trick pony brat?" Still, the blonde was fighting him to a stalemate. Kisame knew he couldn't hope to hit the kid, that damnable elemental chakra made him way to fast even for Kisame who wasn't slow by any means. Itachi might have been able to keep up with his Sharingan but Kisame wouldn't bet on it. So, it seemed they were at an en passé. Grinning, Kisame flared his chakra, making one handed seals. "Suiton: Water Bullet!" He grinned satisfactorily as Naruto was forced to leap to the side. Of course, the blonde brat couldn't risk getting hit by water with that much elemental chakra in his system. He'd be fried from the inside out. "Plenty more where that came from brat." Kisame went slightly overboard for a minute, spitting water bullets at the boy just to watch him squirm. With Samehada continually feeding off of the Biju's chakra storm, he could afford such wastefulness.

Naruto kept dodging the water bullets sent his way, but this shit was getting monotonous fast. He desperately needed an opening, of course being an S-ranked nin Kisame was barely going to have any, particularly while fighting in his element. He glanced over at Kakashi who barely seemed to be there with all the high-speed techniques him and Itachi were using. Damn it, he was going to have to undo the limiters. Mid-dodge Narutp crossed his fingers and yelled. "Kai!" An explosion of lightning chakra rocked his body, despite a good bit of it being absorbed by Samehada. Naruto sent a malicious grin at Kisame before phasing out of existence.

Kisame moved to parry a strike aimed at his back but was forced to dodge as his cloak was cut open. "_Has the little fucker gotten faster?_" Kisame leaped into the air to dodge Naruto's next strike, yeah the kid was faster alright. It seemed he had increased the amount of lightning chakra he was willing to intake into his muscles, normally such a mistake would be fatal but with Samehada absorbing all the excess chakra the kid probably wouldn't even feel side effects. A cut appeared right above Kisame's brow. Impressive. If he hadn't seen that coming he'd be missing the top part of his head. Battle-sharpened reflexes allowed Kisame to jump under Naruto's next swing and plant his sword straight into the back of the Sanbi. Using Samehada as leverage, he completed the maneuver with a one-legged spinning kick that met Naruto's blade with a crash. Kisame grinned as he continued using the momentum to stand on top of the Raijin for a split second allowing his elbow to find the back of the Namikaze's head as he finished his combo. Kisame's grin turned downright vicious as he landed, bring Samehada to bear.

Naruto grunted in pain. That had fucking _hurt._ Naruto took in the smoldering Kisame who had just brought his blade to bear again. At least the monster in front of him was completely unaffected by his lightning chakra. The Namikaze honestly didn't know how many more tricks he could pull out of his sleeve at this point, which was the problem with fighting an S-ranked nin. Naruto knew that S-ranked fights were very rare because the two ninja participating in them were so far beyond professional that the moves they used seem amateurish to a casual observer. Of course, an S-ranked nin would be far above par in every aspect of being a shinobi, but the trait that stood out was what they specialized in. And since a powerful shinobi would know his style inside and out, at the S-rank, even minor weaknesses to the style could be canceled out. For example, Naruto's own lightning techniques could only be countered by a wind user on his level, not just some run- of- the- mill jounin. Thus, Naruto found himself at a standoff, and it was a very momentous task to try and break the standoff. Kisame was helping any either. Did the bastard have any fucking weaknesses?

A tremor shook warring ninja who were on the back of the Sanbi. The Third Mizukage was reverting back to his human form. Doing so meant that the ninja on the current Sanbi's back needed to move and quickly, lest they be caught up in the implosion of demonic chakra.

"Kakashi! Raikiri!" Naruto screamed desperately at Kakashi as he formed a Raikiri of his own, making ready to punch out of the demonic chakra dome that was condensing around them. Kisame and Itachi made their own preparations as the Mist-nin brought his sword to bear whilst the Sharingan user used a minute amount of black flames to penetrate the dome. Both parties leapt out and landed on the water, Kisame and Itachi making their way towards the sinking body of the Third Mizukage. Both missing-nin were forced to dodge lightning spear that came dangerously close to their faces, courtesy of Naruto.

"You know we cant let you take him," Kakashi settled into a fighting stance, weary as he was. To his left, Naruto mirrored the stance while dispersing the electricity from his body, he couldn't very well generate a static field on water. All said though, this fight was beginning to take its toll. You couldn't just overwhelm opponents like Itachi and Kisame, for all purposes, they were unbeatable. Without outside interference it was very unlikely the deadlock would end. Add to the fact that they were still standing on a freaking ocean and that Kisame was a master at water based attacks…

Naruto gulped. He glanced at Kakashi, wondering what his peer thought about the situation. In layman's terms, Kisame and Itachi were the perfect people to combat Naruto and Kakashi. Itachi's fire element coupled with blinding speed and genjutsu would be enough to keep Kakashi at bay while the physically slower powerhouses Naruto and Kisame matched up. Thus, every match was fated to end in a draw. Days like these…

"Ah, Namikaze-san, we must insist that you allow us to complete our objective." Itachi was satisfied. The fight with Kakashi had shown that there were still people to measure his capacity against, and if his two broken ribs were any indication, people who could still harm him. Itachi took pleasure in small comforts. Battle lust having been sated though, there still remained the issue of the Jinchuuriki and how to go about capturing the Sanbi. Itachi motioned to Kisame who disappeared beneath the water with a grin to retrieve the Mizukage. Itachi kept his eyes on the two leaf-nin in front of him, Sharingan whirring in his eyes. It would not do to have the two of them interfere but if they decided to attack him in a combo there was little he could do without the backup of Kisame. Itachi knew his own limits, or rather, the potential of the ninja in front of him. Kakashi was a genius ninja who could soak up anything ninjutsu related in mere moments, and with the addition of the Sharingan his ability to absorb information had skyrocketed to unprecedented levels. While not knowing much about the blonde ninja, Itachi had surmised that the boy had a close relationship to Kakashi and was highly proficient in the lightning element, more so then any shinobi not in the Bingo Book had a right to be. And if Itachi's experiences with the blonde nin meant anything, the boy was highly proficient in genjutsu as well, not to mention the addition of the Raijin, which showed proficiency in Kenjutsu. Itachi blinked. Wow. He had established that the blonde was a powerhouse on the level of Kisame and himself, despite the fact that he seemed to be quite a few years younger.

"Yoton: River!" Itachi was brought out of his musings by a stream of pure magma coming over the ocean, starting from the shoreline which was a few hundred yards away.

"Oh, fuck," Naruto and Kakashi swore in unison when they saw the Lava Release technique hurdle their way. No doubt this was caused by Mei Terumi, who was possibly the only other Kage level ninja in the area. Kakashi grimaced and made ready to flee. Outside interferences indeed. Kisame and Itachi being the least of their worries now, Naruto and Kakashi started back on the road to Konoha.

A.N. Next chapter, Tsunade's reaction, and the training of the Konoha genin under Shikamaru commences. Also, more on Kakashi and Naruto's relationship, with a hint of the mysterious past of Naruto.


End file.
